He explained that farmers can raise goats and sheep in their own backyards and also in coco-farms, especially under the coconut trees.
Farmers don't have to feed goats and sheep with commercial foods because they just eat grass in the surroundings, he added.
He said with the integration of sheep and goat in farmlands, farmers can save as much as 70% from the cost of labor and maintenance of plantation crops because sheep and goats will thrive on grasses and plants in the area.
Maghanoy also reported that DA 10 is hosting the 3rd National Goat and Sheep Congress, in coordination with the Federation of Goat and Sheep Producers and Associations of the Philippines (FGASPAPI), on March 21-23, at the Lim Ket Kai Center in Cagayan de Oro.
Themed "Asenso ka sa Kambing at Tupa," goat and sheep raisers-farmers and product and service providers will be updated on the various issues affecting the industry and will open up challenges towards development and economic equity.
Meanwhile, Provincial Veterinarian Alfonso Ramosa of Misamis Oriental said, "there is a need for more production of goat and sheep."
Goats and sheep are not only in demand in the country for local consumption but are also being sought in other countries, especially in the Middle East.
He said the demand of goat is 3.2% compared to our production of only 1.5 %.
Ramosa said the raisers of goats and sheep are classified into: backyard raisers or those that rely on grasses only for feeding, and commercial raisers or those that mix feeds in their feeding so as to cope up with the production needs.
He also reported that the provincial government of Misamis Oriental has allocated funds for the purchase of upgraded male goats to be used as breeders.
During the same forum, Dr. Elvito D. Tac-an, DA-10 livestock division chief, said Middle East countries need 10,000 heads of goat per month, which the Philippines cannot produce at the moment.
This is a challenge to commercial raisers so that they would raise more goats to answer the high demand of goat's meat and goat's milk in the country and in the international market, he said.
Tac-an clarified that the goat's meat to be exported should be halal-produced, halal-processed and halal-packed, a pre-requisite before it could be accepted in the Middle East countries.
Halal means that the production, processing and packaging aspect is free from contamination of pig's oil, hog waste, and other organic matter of pigs that will come in contact with goats, he explained.
He also said there is a ritual where only qualified abattoir or slaughter house personnel are allowed to slaughter goats whose meat are to be exported to the Middle East countries. (Press release)
